This Palace Pu’er Tea (Gong Ting 宫廷普洱) carefully selected by TeaVivre is produced in Mengku, Lincang, which is a representative producing area of Yunnan pu’er tea and one of the famous five tea-producing areas in Yunnan.

The pure flavor, the mellow taste, the exposed gold coins make this kind of high-quality tea deserve to be appreciated carefully.

Lincang gives the greatest yield of tea in Yunnan at present. According to statistics, Lincang covers an area of 24469 square kilometers, among which 443.51 square kilometers can be used to plant tea trees. It is the hometown of world-known Yunnan large-leaved tea, and the original heartland of tea trees.

Mengku large-leaved tea is of high quality for tea production. Using it as material, Palace Pu’er Tea has a large number of gold buds and symbolizes great value. Just as its name suggests, it is so precious that only the empire can drink Palace Pu’er Tea. Not only because of the mellow taste, but also owing to the valuable status, it has been quite well-known since antiquity.

Pu’er tea is a kind of healthy beverage, which can keep the stomach fit and warm it, can help us reduce fat and lose weight, and can refresh brain. According to different processes, it can be classified into fresh tea and cooked tea. It can be shaped like the cake, bowl and brick. Thus in this way, Palace Pu’er Tea belongs to the uncompressed and cooked loose tea. The name “Palace” has represented the high level of this kind of tea. As for the quality, it counts as one of the best of all the loose teas. The source land, Mengku, is the hometown of pu’er tea and provides the world with high-quality pu’er tea. With TeaVivre’s recommendation, this Palace Pu’er Tea produced in 2007 will not let pu’er tea lovers down.

Original Place of this Palace Pu-erh Tea - Mengku

One kind of great pu-erh tea needs one great source land of tea leaves, and Mengku is just the one. As one of the main tea-producing county in Yunnan, it is located in the north of Shuangjiang and is subordinate to Lincang tea-producing area (Lin means approaching to; Cang means Lancang River; Lincang got its name from approaching to Lancang River). Close to the Tropic of Cancer, it is the source land of national sexual fine-breed Mengku large-leaved tea and belongs to subtropical three-dimensional climate.

There are almost 667 hectares of wild tea tree group in the virgin forest of Mengku Great Snowy Mountains at an altitude of 3228 meters (longitude 99°46’degrees east—latitude 23°42’ degrees north) . At most, the tea trees can be 22 meters high, and the root can be 3.25 meters thick. Most of them are 2500- 3000 years old. The wild tea group is the largest one with the highest elevation in China. It is very rare to discover such a large ancient tea tree group in the history of tea leaves’ development, which further proves that Mengku is one of the source land of tea trees in the world and the active gene pool of biological diversity.

Brief Health Info

Pu-erh tea has been touted for many years as a great weight loss tea because of its ability to help us burn fat and shed pounds, as well as having a deliciously mellow and deeply earthy flavor.

Pu erh has a mild, gentle nature to it, and so is great to drink if you have a delicate stomach or trouble drinking other teas. People in south western China usually drink this tea during meals, to help with digestion. Of course, like the health benefits of all tea , it contains antioxidants!

About Mengku Large-leaf Species

Let us have a look at the composition of Mengku Large-leaf tea.

Moisture content

10%

Aminoacid quantum

2.96%

Tea polyphenols quantum

35.11%

Caffeinum

5.06%

Catechin

139.85mg/g

Soluble carbohydrates

4.24%

Theaflavin

0.1763%

Water extraction

45.13%

Theabrownin

3.94%

Total ash admeasurement

3.99%

Mengku Large-leaf Species is also called Big Black Tea. It is planted in Mengku and belonging to Large-leaf tea tree. Originally produced in Mengku, Shuangjiang, Lincang, it was judged as No. 12 Chinese Tea in 1984.

Ripened Pu-erh Tea and microorganisms

Pile fermentation is an indispensable step in the process of Ripened Pu-erh Tea and is also the essence of Ripened Pu-erh Tea. Pile fermentation refers to the process of piling up the sunlight-dried primary tea to a certain height, watering, covering it by hessians, fermenting around 24 hours in the wet and warm environment.

From the microcosmic perspective, there are such main microorganisms in the mysterious process of pu er tea’s pile fermentation: Aspergillus niger, Penicillium, Rhizopus, Aspergillus gloucus, Saccharomyces, and Bacterium.

Aspergillus niger has laid a solid material foundation for the enhancement of the beverage’s fragrance and the quality of stickiness and smoothness, richness and mellowness. Rhizopus also can help puerh tea be sticky and smooth, rich and mellow.

In the process of pu erh tea pile fermentation, the heat-moisture effect has created a good environment for the metabolic activity of Saccharomyces. The quality of stale flavor, mellowness, sweetness and smoothness presented by pu’er tea is inseparable with the microbes in the process of fermentation.

Researchers in Yunnan Normal University once did this experiment as follow. Firstly, they took 1 gram tea sample from fresh-leaf tea, deactivated tea, rolled tea, sunlight-dried tea and pile-fermented tea. Then they tested the change of microbes in quantity in the process of pu-er tea pile fermentation.

The most important things decide the Puerh quality:

1 Place: The high quality Puerh should use the Yunan Large-leaf variety. The main traditional Puerh production areas are Xishuangbanna, Pu’er (Simao), Lincang and Baoshan. The tea from different area has different characteristic. And each place also has their own representative places, for example, the representative places in Lingcang are: Fengqing and Mengku.

2 The quality of tea tress: Although all the Puerh tea trees are Yunnan Large-leaf tea trees variety, this variety also has many subcategories. There are many ways to distinguish the tea trees. In order to understand easily, we can judge the quality by the age of the trees. The older the tea tree is, the deeper the root is, so it can absorb more nutrient and mineral substance which can ensure the high quality of the tea. Generally speaking, the 60 years old tea tree (also called big tea tree 大树茶) is better than the 30 years old tea tree (also called arbor tea tree 乔木茶) which is better than 10 years old or less than 10 years old tea tree (also called tableland tea tree 台地茶). Of course, there are also some tea trees more than hundred years old which is quite rare.

3 Plucking time: Moistened by abundant rainwater in spring, the fresh tea leaves are used to make sunlight-dried primary tea, which is rather good for the production of high-quality pu’er tea.

4 The grade of tea leaves: The thick branches and big leaves don’t mean it is bad quality. Usually the grade only means the tenderness of the maocha. It can be divided into ten grades by the tenderness. The super grade is the most tender which contains tiny buds with golden tips. The worst is the tenth grade which contains big leaves with stalk. The appearance of higher grade maocha is elegant and the also contains more inclusions. But the higher grade also has bitter taste. The lower grade taste roughly and clearly, and also contains much fragrant which make the tea rich taste. So it is better to choose puerh by the taste you like but not only focus on the grade.

5 Storage time: Under the condition of dry storage, the taste changes with the length of time it stored; the longer it stored, the better it tastes. With fine Pu-erh tea, the longer it is stored and aged, as long as it is stored properly, the more complex the flavor and the more valuable the tea gets. But it need to note that it is under the condition of good place, tea tree and proper picking time, it can’t be only emphasis the storage time but ignore the tea inner quality.

Additionally, compare with Ripe Puerh, the Raw Puerh doesn’t have the wet piling process so it should be more focus on the tea resource quality.

I’ve been very fortunate to be able to sample some great pu’erh teas lately. I’m becoming a huge fan of the variety and would now place pu’erh as one of my favorite classifications. At the top of my pu’erh tea list (so far) is Teavivre’s Ripened Aged Pu-erh Mini Tuocha. I was anxious to see how the Mengku Palace Ripened Golden Buds Loose Pu-erh Tea measured up.

I steeped this tea at 212 degrees for two minutes as instructed on the sample package. A rich molasses-colored brew developed.

The flavor of this tea is earthy, woodsy, and leathery. This follows the pattern of the other pu’erh teas that I’ve tried. The taste is somewhat milder than the Mini Tuocha blend. I also found the flavor to have a nice twinge of sweetness to it. As with all of the Teavivre teas that I’ve sampled to date, there is no bitterness.

This is another solid tea entry in the Teavivre family. If I were forced to choose between Mengku Palace and Mini Tuocha, I would have to go with the more robust Mini Tuocha. That does not diminish the quality of Mengku Palace. I’m just a strong tea kind of guy.

This review was originally published on Steepster by Stoo in June, 2012. TeaVivre has added this whole review here by getting permission from Stoo.

By Peteron 3/15/14

Rating :

I have tried this tea a few times now. The first time, I followed the brew guide. I think I nearly overdosed on caffeine: I began perspiring profusely. I have since become very careful, when preparing this tea, to use only minute quantities, for this reason.

The tea liquors to a very dark bronze colour, even when using only a quarter teaspoonful of leaves for a cup. The steeped leaves have a decided fishy odour that is noticeable in the cup, although it is not overpowering. The tea liquor is heavy, what I want to call oily. I am not thrilled with this tea. It is my first pu-erh from TeaVivre (many years ago, I had bought a cheap pressed tuocha at a supermarket that I had rather liked).

By K Son 8/8/13

Rating :

I had a tamale, rice, and refried beans for lunch. Of course there were the obligatory chips and heavily cilantro laced salsa (Mmmmm). Oh yeah, and the necessary side of queso… And two tall glasses of whatever iced tea they served.

I have been craving puerh for days. This afternoon it is necessary. I can’t believe I ate the whole thing.

A 2 minute steep produces a beautiful dark rich, red tinted, cup. The scent is horse tack and the taste is smooth, sweet, hay, fruit, and leather. I had forgotten how good this is. Perfection in a mug.

Time for my siesta? sí (I feel so multi-cultural, lol)

Nudging the rating upward.

This review was originally published on Steepster by K S on June, 2013. TeaVivre add this whole review here by getting permission from K S.

By SimpliciTEAon 7/26/13

Rating :

Received in 2012 as a free sample; steeped up July 2013.

I served this up to two friends of mine, both of whom like tea, but are not enthusiasts, as I consider myself to be.

I brewed about 8 grams in an 8OZ cast iron Japanese kettle, at boiling, for three steepings (1, 2, and 3 minutes respectively).

I have very little experience with Pu-erh. I consider us all somewhat picky about what we like in a tea. All that to say, we all liked it. And it still had plenty of flavor on the third steeping.

By Tabbyon 7/19/13

Rating :

First of all, I’m honored to get to try this aged tea. When it was harvested, I was still at my first place away from home, working for Wolf Camera.

Now, onto the details. I gave it just over two minutes and it brewed up very dark. The scent reminds me of leather and the forest floor after a good rain. Now, I’m always a little afraid of puerh because I don’t like fishiness, but this puerh doesn’t taste like that at all. It tastes fresher and smoother than other puerhs I’ve tried, and completely not astringent. It makes me think of a really good yunnan, just… aged, for lack of a better word.

This review was originally published on Steepster by Tabby on July, 2012. TeaVivre add this whole review here by getting permission from Tabby.

By Roderick Dale on 7/15/13

Rating :

Free sample from Teavivre.

Yum yum yum. I love this tea. The liquor is dark, rich and full-bodied. The mellow earthy flavour is right there without any fishy taste. It leaves my tongue tingling after each sip. I think this is a tea that I could drink all day. It makes me happy to drink it and I am struggling not to gulp it down just so that I can reinfuse the leaves and start all over again. This one is definitely going on the shopping list.

By Codyon 5/22/13

Rating :

I’ve tasted this one twice now. This was the first loose leaf pu’er that I’ve prepared, and I definitely underestimated the amount of leaf that I should use the first time. More is definitely better with this shou. For me, about a third of my gaiwan works pretty well considering the leaves don’t expand much after water hits them.

The dry leaf aroma is spicy, dry, and woody. The leaves are short, stocky, and thin with faded black, and light brown colorations. They remind me of black tea leaves. After a wash of around ten seconds the leaves reveal a thick and earthy aroma like rich and fertile soil. There are also some notes of cocoa, grapes, and the second time I tried it, some faint funky smell like spoiled grapes. Kind of off-putting, but not awful.

The broth ends up being quite nice. The first steep is very thick and dark, but not so much so that I can’t see to the bottom of the cup. Later on, as steeps progress, it becomes darker and murky. Tea oils are also apparent on the surface.

Flavor-wise, it’s a bit of a weaker brew as I alluded to at the beginning. I first began with Teavivre’s recommended steep times, but found them to produce a more one-dimensional and shallow flavor. I do 10" for the first and 20" for the second steep, but usually jump to something above a minute for the third and something like five minutes for the fourth. I can maybe get one or two extra steeps after that, but they typically aren’t note-worthy.

This shou has a very woody flavor, which is always the top note for each steep. Later on, a really sweet and peaty flavor mingles with the woodsy notes while dry, spicy features rise throughout the session. At some points, I can taste some fruity dimensions, like a wine-y aspect that provides both sweetness and a tad bit of tartness. Later on during the session, usually during the fourth steep, it tastes really leathery, with an almost oily mouthfeel to match. Otherwise, I suppose I could describe this tea as “smooth” texturally, but the mouthfeel isn’t very interesting overall, although it becomes faintly sparkly during the very last steep. I can, however, get a decent aftertaste following most steeps, which happens to be very sweet.

Other than a faint metallic undertone in the first steep, a bit of an odd aroma to the wet leaves, and a little oiliness this shou is pretty clean. It provides most of the things I would look for in a shou, but doesn’t really bring anything new to the table.

This review was originally published on Steepster by Cody on January, 2013. TeaVivre add this whole review here by getting permission from Cody.

By Evaon 3/3/13

Rating :

Very good tea that takes quite a few infusions. Good flavour without being overly characteristic of a Pu-erh. I prefer the typical Pu-erh taste over the subtleness of this one but can recomemnd it to people who are less into the typical flavour of this tea group.

By Stevenon 2/15/13

Rating :

Its pretty good for a puer. but im really not a big fan of puer in general. tastes kind of like tobacco

By Tommyon 2/15/13

Rating :

Yet another wonderful tea from Teavivre. They sent me a sample which has only furthered my interest in Pu-Erhs, though I am still very new to them. I am sure, however, that I will be drinking this one for a long time.

Commonly asked questions

Q: When will this tea be back in stock? Posted on 1/19/14 by belle

Reply: Dear belle, very sorry that this tea will not be available again because the manufacturer has stop producing it. But we are keeping looking for new puerh teas for serving on our site. For now you can try our Ripened Aged Loose Pu-erh Tea: http://www.teavivre.com/loose-leaf-pu-erh/